Supergran defies the odds to take on the toughest race on earth for Macmillan Cancer Support

18 February 2013

On Sunday 3 March, game grandmother Jennifer Murray will set out to overcome age, injury and her critics when she takes on the toughest footrace on the planet, the Atacama Desert in Chile, in the hopes of raising £50,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Jennifer is no stranger to adventure and as the first woman ever to solo circumnavigate the globe in a helicopter, she is set to run straight in to the record books once more when she takes on the charity challenge. Jennifer is the oldest woman ever to have attempted this race, and is the oldest competitor in the race by ten years.

This is no ordinary race, and along with running partner, Head of Macmillan Support Line, Blanca Fernandez, Jennifer will be racing across a vast Chilean desert that is 50 times drier than Death Valley and widely known as the driest place on earth. The race itself is an epic 250km self-supported race lasting six days, in other words a marathon a day for six straight days in temperatures reaching as high as over 40C.

Jennifer said: 'Macmillan Cancer Support is a wonderful organisation that offers every type of support for people affected by cancer. My darling cousin Sophie died of cancer when she was just 18 years old, so I know firsthand how devastating cancer can be. Age is just a number to me, and I am determined to take on this final epic adventure and complete this ultra marathon for myself and for Macmillan.'

Jennifer is a trained helicopter pilot who learnt to fly aged 54. She solo circumnavigated the world in a helicopter in 2000 and in 2007 co-piloted a helicopter to circumnavigate around the poles, a trip that crossed 25 countries, lasted 171 days and had never before been accomplished. The 2007 trip was a second attempt, after Jennifer and co-pilot Colin Bodill suffered a near-fatal accident and severe injuries during the first.

To donate to Jennifer’s desert marathon attempt for Macmillan go to her Just Giving page|.

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Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity in England and Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604). A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales company number 2400969. Isle of Man company number 4694F. Registered office: 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7UQ.